USS Nathan James (DDG-151)

USS Nathan James (DDG-151) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy, under the command of Captain Thomas Chandler and is the main setting of The Last Ship.
The Nathan James' main and allegedly last deployment is to escort and support Dr. Rachel Scott and her project for a cure of a deadly pandemic, which has caused devastation on a global scale. While at the same time overseeing the delivery of the cure to the surviving rest of the world when the cure has been found.

The Nathan James, true to the name of the show, is the last known ship of the U.S. Navy to still be active and the last ship in the world that still upheld its late country's values, procedures and orders.

The USS Nathan James (DDG-151) is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia and is set under the command of Captain Thomas Chandler and his Executive Officer - Mike Slattery. The ship is named after a U.S. Navy ensign who was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions at the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II.

The Nathan James has a crew of 217 Naval personnel, the introduction of Dr. Scott, her assistant Dr. Tophet and the Private Military Contractor - Tex brings the on-board crew numbers to 220 as of Season 1, and by "A More Perfect Union", there are 204 crew members serving on board. The ship is also fully-equipped with the necessary lab equipments for Dr. Scott to conduct her experiments and tests in the hangar at the back of the ship.

According to its real-life counterpart technical features, the USS Halsey (DDG-97), the Nathan James has the length of 509 ft 6 inches (155.30m), beam of 66 ft (20m) and draft of 31 ft (9.4m). Including two (2) shafts and four (4) gas turbines with the approximate shaft power of 100,000 (75-megawatt). It is able to attain the speed of more than thirty (30) knots (or more than 55 km/h) at full throttle.

The Nathan James also holds on-board an SH-60 Seahawk ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Helicopter.

The Nathan James is fitted with the standard 5-inch/62 caliber Mark 45 Naval Gun, which was used in S1E2 to create a diversion for the shore party to neutralize the Al-Qaeda's inmates and rescue Tex. It was also used as the ship's defense against Russian's helicopters in S1E1 in cooperation with the ship's Phalanx CIWS system. In S2E10, the Nathan James runs out of ammunition except for four shells for this gun. After luring the Achilles to the surface, the gun was used in conjunction with a hijacked shore battery mounted on land to sink the Achilles. Two Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) that is placed both on the bow and at the aft of the ship. The VLS is fully-stocked, as seen in S2E5, with RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) which can intercept short-to-intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and were used to intercept the missiles of the Achilles' submarine and failed when only two were successfully intercepted. The ship also stores BGM-109 Tomahawks cruise missiles, but has never been used.

The ship is equipped with two Mk 46 Triple Torpedo Tubes, stocked with Mk 45 MAKO torpedoes and was used on S1E3 to clear the way through the volatile corals in Guantanamo Bay and also seen in action on S2E5 while the James utilized them as defense against the Achilles' torpedoes and as counterattack against the submarine.

Phalanx Close-In-Weapon-System (CIWS) is installed and has been part of the main defense of the ship against Russians' helicopters as they close in on the ship and open fire on S1E1, in partnership with the Mark 45 Naval Gun. On the starboard and larboard, the Nathan James also has manned 25mm and 12.7mm machine guns, both was used on S2E4 by the crew on General Quarters to support the boarding party clearing out the hostiles on the USNS Solace, only the 25mm controlled remotely by TAO (Tactical Action Officer) Kara Foster managed a kill-shot.

A real Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer has been used for the filming of the USS Nathan James: The USS Halsey (DDG-97).

In Phase Six, Chandler called the Nathan James a $3 billion dollar destroyer when in reality an Arleigh Burke Destroyer only cost $1.8 billion dollars.

It is unknown if the Nathan James holds two SH-60 Seahawk's helicopters on-board or not, for it is standard for an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer to accommodate two Seahawks on deployment. It is possible that the Seahawk which was used in the show is the only one for the large setups of Dr. Scott in the Hangar.

Most of the ship's crew extras are real-life sailors.

During Cry Havoc, the Nathan James is able to sink the Achilles with its forward cannon and help from a commandeered on-shore missile battery. However, it takes damage and exhausts all of its ammunition in the battle. At the end of the next episode, the President mentions that the Nathan James has taken such damage that it will be in dry dock for months.

The Nathan James uses only a regular sonar to track the Achilles. When in reality, an Arleigh Burke Destroyer uses an advanced sonar mounted in its hull below the bow which can pin-point a subs location underwater. So the James could easily have tracked the sub, even under the ships.